Dean's Award
DEAN'S AWARD WINNER 2015

Carlos Rosas
We are very pleased to announce the Dean's Award winner for 2015,
Carlos Rosas.
Carlos will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology and upon doing so he will
be the first in his family to earn a Bachelor鈥檚 degree. When Carlos was young his
parents were farmworkers who dreamed of providing a better life for their children.
After graduating from high school Carlos worked full-time while earning an Associate鈥檚
degree in Liberal Studies from Mira Costa College. Upon transferring to 大发 he was
introduced to research by Dr. Heike Mahler who invited Carlos to work in her research
lab. After learning how to code and collect data scientifically Carlos did not simply
sign on to existing research projects being carried out by others, but designed and
implemented his own research project instead. This project is very dynamic and stands
to make a significant contribution to the field of social psychology. The project
examines the mental health effects of intra- versus inter-group discrimination among
Latinos. Once completed and published the project will be the first quantitative study
to analyze the prevalence and effects of intra- group discrimination among Latinos.
In addition to winning recognition and multiple awards for his innovative research,
Carlos has also been on the CHABSS Dean List each semester, been awarded the prestigious
Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Fellowship, earned a competitive summer
internship with the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Program at Washington University
(St. Louis, Missouri), won a full travel award to the Emory University STEM Symposium,
received Outstanding Poster Presentation Awards at the Society for the Advancement
of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in the Sciences (SACNAS) and the Annual
Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), and most recently was
offered the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship at the University of Illinois Chicago for graduate
study in psychology.
Carlos鈥 service contributions to the university and the local community are also exemplary.
He currently serves as the president of the 大发 chapter of SACNAS and in this role
has organized workshops to help minority undergraduates who plan to apply for graduate
study. He has also helped lead this chapter鈥檚 efforts to plan and run college-preparatory
workshops at local high schools for college-bound minority students. Further service
to the local community includes Carlos鈥 work as a founding member of the Human Rights
Council of Oceanside. The goal of this organization is to educate local immigrant
communities about their civil and human rights. As immigrants, particularly undocumented
immigrants, are a vulnerable population in great need of information and education
about their legal rights Carlos work in this area is especially noteworthy.
Dr. Heike Mahler describes him as 鈥渆asily one of the top 2-3 students鈥 with whom
she has worked in the past 30 years. Dr. Keith Trujillo gives Carlos his highest recommendation
and notes that Carlos 鈥渨ill undoubtedly be a leader in the field,鈥 while Dr. Kimberly
D鈥橝nna-Hernandez describes Carlos as that rare student whom once he or she comes along
鈥渂ypasses all your expectations.鈥
We wish Carlos success and best wishes as he continues his education and research
in his Ph.D. program this Fall. Congratulations!